Is GTA San Andreas, in all honesty, worth finishing (or at least reaching Las Venturas)?

I'll try to keep the story somewhat brief.

I've had an unplayed copy of GTA V sitting on my hard drive for like two years or something but wanted to give San Andreas another shot before starting it. People keep telling me San Andreas is one of the greatest games of all time, but when I tried it circa 2006 I found the controls unplayable and hated a lot of the core systems. After going back into it again, I actually like the game now, but the odd thing is... I like it in spite of the missions.

I'm enjoying the world and the grind of acquiring weapons and money, but the missions in my opinion kind of run counter to SA's strong suits, and there are A LOT of missions in this game. After like 20 hours I'm still only mid way trough the San Fierro missions and they're getting frustrating enough to get in the way of what I like about the game.

Is there anything else the 3rd city or the rest of the game even has to offer in terms of sandbox/grind gameplay that hasn't been introduced so far?

The impulse to experience what so many people praise is understandable, but your experience so far is valid. How big would any payoff have to be to make your suffering worthwhile?

I can't speak to san andreas specifically, I don't like GTA at all after trying a couple. But a universal truth of games is that if you're not enjoying playing then it's time to move on.

I played and loved San Andreas at the time of release, but from today's perspective there are a lot of issues. The main one is what you appear to encountering now: the undisguised repetitive nature of the missions. I think this is slightly better disguised in GTA IV (though the relationship-building side missions more than compensate for the reduced frustration in this area) and are much better done in GTA V.

What I'd say is that the GTA San Andreas player is rewarded more interesting missions, side missions and distractions once they get to Las Venturas... though I'd argue that the city itself feels more thinly drawn by that point.

However, in all honesty, I'd advise putting San Andreas to bed and going straight to GTA V, which is a flawed masterpiece. In particular, it gets the RPG elements really right, making the side missions feel like enjoyable experiences in themselves rather than things you have to do in order to make aspects of the game easier.

TLDR: Go straight to GTA V; don't look back at GTA SA.

I also played and enjoyed GTA:SA when the game was new, and liked a lot of things about it. But, I recall it being pretty front-loaded; if you aren't enjoying it now, you probably won't later. And, concerns about it being dated are probably valid.

The game does have some of the best standalone missions when you get to them (the casino heist is a standout) but I wouldn't say it was worth getting to them if you're miserable already.

I guess we have something like a catch all for the game?: https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

Yes, it was that series of missions that I had in mind. That linked missions idea was lightly trailed in the truck mission that took you out of Los Santos, IIRC.

I just tried to make a switch to the modded PC version (I've been playing on PS2 until now) and after a few hours of wrangling with mods and patches it crashed twice so I gave up. I haven't completely given up on the PS2 version yet, but the PC version of the game seems to be a disaster.

The Steam version apparently seems to be the worst version of the game, as content is missing, it doesn't have all the improvements of the mobile version, but isn't faithful to the look of the PS2 version either, and has bugs the earlier versions didn't have. I was going to try it because everyone says GTA is so much better on mouse and keyboard, and the controls have been a main problem for me.

It's a shame really, I guess Max Payne 3 was the point where Rockstar finally started doing not-terrible PC ports.

RedSwirl wrote:

Is there anything else the 3rd city or the rest of the game even has to offer in terms of sandbox/grind gameplay that hasn't been introduced so far?

This list of tasks to complete to get 100% completion gives a decent view of what mini games and extras are on offer. If you're 20 hours in already I don't think pushing past your dissatisfaction is going to give you a second wind. San Andreas, like many GTAs that came after, is a big game because of bloat rather than diversity. There's mainly just thin variations on running, driving and shooting.

That being said I do remember fondly completing the Beat the Rooster* triathlon challenge. It was a great sandbox game for its time.

*Edit: changed to avoid the profanity censor.

There are some quests in SA that are absolutely brutal. I think I stalled out on an RC helicopter quest that was effing impossible. Never saw the end of the game because of it.

Malor wrote:

There are some quests in SA that are absolutely brutal. I think I stalled out on an RC helicopter quest that was effing impossible. Never saw the end of the game because of it.

The mission for Zero? That one isn't even required.

Ah! You talking about the 'New Model Army' mission. That was a tricky one, but nowhere near as bad as 'Supply Lines', the RC plane mission... which was a right ****!

RedSwirl is right though. The radio controlled vehicle missions in GTA San Andreas were all optional.

I believe this was in response to the consternation caused by 'Demolition Man' in GTA Vice City, which 'gated' two-thirds of that game. A quick Google confirms that 'Demolition Man' was still frustrating players as recently as last year!

So armed with this knowledge, I assume you'll be dusting off your PS2 over the weekend, Malor?

I'm proud to say that I finished all the RC missions, but, when GTA:SA was new I was about 30... still had great reflexes and a ton of patience. (Also, was poor enough that I milked games that I bought.) I'm pretty sure I dumped hours into them and probably used a walkthrough or something. Can't imagine attempting them now.

Oh wait, I can't imagine playing the game at all now... so many of the mechanics, not to mention graphics, must seem so primitive at this point.

I thought you were referring to how the world changes at the end game state. Then it gets virtually unplayable. I never finished it and I got right up until the end.

Hobear wrote:

I thought you were referring to how the world changes at the end game state. Then it gets virtually unplayable. I never finished it and I got right up until the end.

Oh crap, I forgot about that! Fortunately I was checking a strategy guide... basically, BEFORE triggering a certain mission pretty close to the end, you need to build up your gang territory to a certain amount or you'll really struggle. Happily that isn't a problem until late game, but... it's another example of Rockstar not always making thoughtful design decisions.

Yes, GTA: San Andreas looks as horrible as you'd expect a 13-year-old game to look. I tip my hat to RedSwirl because I simply could not go back two and half generations like that.

I remember the gang territory missions being a bit of pain. But not as much of a pain as the final 'combination' mission, which I simply cannot imagine completing without first completing the Fire Truck side missions first.

Gaining gang territory was one of my favorite things about the game.